Posted
by
CmdrTaco
on Monday March 28, 2011 @07:47AM
from the but-you-spent-more dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A new mouse performance speed-testing software has scientifically demonstrated that there is virtually no difference between the performance of expensive, high-end gaming mice and cheap laser office mice. The software, called Metalocity, is available for free download so you can test your own mice and confirm the empirical results for yourself. It also shows that the multi-button approach of the Razer Naga and WarMouse Meta increases user speed by up to 112 percent." Note that this report comes from someone who wants to sell you a $80 gaming mouse with a zillion buttons on it, so a grain of salt is required here. But the question is valid: are the expensive mice really worth anything?

Leaving aside for the moment the fact that TFA is actually a gratuitous piece of advertising fluff, which basically says "our competitors' products are rubbish so buy ours"...
I've tried all kinds of mice over the years, including high-end Razer gaming mice and the like - and to be honest, I've never found that there's any kind of big, glaring performance difference. I think the most important thing with regard to mice is just to find one that you're comfortable with. For me, the Intellimouse Explorer 3 (but emphatically not the later versions) fits my hand well and has the right number of buttons positioned just where I want them, so I use that. It also has the advantage of being pretty cheap, which is handy since the wheel tends to gum up after 18 months or so in a way that I've never been able to fix, requiring periodic replacements.
But at the end of the day, any "performance" differences are going to be pretty slim, so I'd just focus on getting something you're comfortable with and that supports your hand properly, to avoid joint pains later in life. The same goes for the keyboard - I've seen players with expensive gaming mice risk giving themselves all kinds of RSI by using keyboards which, through either sheer cheap-and-nastiness or plain old bad design, force their hands into all kinds of contortions.

You may find that natural oils from your fingers pass on to your computing equipment and capture small dirt particles that eventually acrrue into visible/noticeable yuckiness that needs to be cleaned up.

Or you may wear gloves, or you may just not use any computing equipment intensely, or you may have someone else come and clean it regularly for you. The rest of us recognise that we need to clean our keyboards and mice from time to time.

Indeed - and the problem with the Intellimouse Explorer 3 is that despite quite a bit of prodding around, I've never found a way to open it up and clean the wheel-joints that doesn't actually break the thing.

Did you ever think that some people may use their mice a lot more than you? I've got about 10+ hours a day at the computer, hand on the mouse 90% of that time doing CAD work. I need 100% accuracy 100% of the time, or the mouse is completely worthless to me. Even after cleaning every few months I'm lucky to get 2 years out of a mouse.

I've had "performance" mice, and none of them have really been better than my IntelliMouse Explorer as well. I got the Razer Copperhead off Woot once and meh. It didn't really fit my hand nearly as well as the IntelliMouse did, and it just stopped working after about 3 months or so.

It also has the advantage of being pretty cheap, which is handy since the wheel tends to gum up after 18 months or so in a way that I've never been able to fix, requiring periodic replacements.

I don't own a Razer-mouse, but I do recognise your problem here. Have you ever tried opening the mouse, and cleaning the interior?
I've been doing this myself for about five years now, and I'm still on the same mouse after all those years.
Since I'm on a Logitech mouse, I don't know if it's the same as a Razer mouse,

If you are buying an expensive mouse because you think it will make you a l337 gaming god, then no. It won't do jack for you.

If you are buying an expensive mouse because it has better ergonomics than your cheap mouse and you want to reduce wrist strain, or if it has more buttons and you need or want that extra functionality, or if it has greater accuracy in movement and you need more precision, then yes. It will help you.

A mouse is a tool, like any other. Buy the tool most appropriate to your needs and desires. Don't buy one expecting it to make you a better USER of the tool.

I have been using gaming mice for work, not play, for the past five years. It's not about comfort, it's about accuracy. I simply don't see a comparison between a deathadder and a standard laser. Pointer speed, direction, and movement are all better. Of course it makes a difference if you have a 30" screen with a 512MB graphics card and maximum resolution 2560x1600.

I'd disagree. When you need really precision aiming, which clicking an icon doesn't, you need a higher-resolution than normal sensor. Anyone who has gamed in a 3d environment for any length of time in a twitch or action title will tell you that. Get a higher-resolution mouse, and your scores go up a little.

For pulling down menus and clicking icons my trackball beats the pants off of most people's mice. But it's terrible for precision aiming in gaming. The testing methodology here is similarly testing t

In terms of things like ergonomics, number of buttons you can actually use/remap, etc. but the bottom line is that optical sensors have gotten pretty good, even at the low end.

It is true that the fancy laser stuff will let you mouse on surfaces where basic LED mice won't; but even laser diodes aren't all that costly, though they are used as a price discrimination feature.

Beyond mere ergonomic satisfaction, which is something of a matter of taste, and utility of extra buttons, which is a combination of taste and design, the only place that really dramatic differences jump out at you is with the wireless stuff. It is harder, though still entirely possible, to buy some really dire wireless mice. Slow refresh, shuts down to save power at the worst possible times and then spends 10 seconds waking up again, that sort of thing(and bluetooth? Pay double or insert dongle...)

For your basic rat on a string, though, it is hard to get too worked up about the differences between modern sensors.

...than about $50 tops on a mouse. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than about $20. My latest mouse I got when I replaced my keyboard (because one of the feet had broken off), I got a mouse and keyboard combo for about $30.

I purchased both of my Razer gaming mice from woot.com. I think they were both about $25 after shipping. A worthwhile purchase in my opinion (there's no reason my thumb and ring finger need to remain lazy).

As an avid computer FPS gamer, I can tell that using a higher end mouse definitely makes a difference. I've used quite a few in my days, mostly Logitech. I currently use an MX518. However, let's say for the sake of argument that the sensors are not of higher quality and don't offer any higher DPI or sensitivity than their mainstream office counterparts. There are other aspects to gaming mice that are quite important. The ergonomic shape of the mouse. The placement of the buttons. The software that allows you to configure the sensitivity very specifically to your preferences. In some mice, you have the ability to add or remove optional weights to suit your specific style. All of these contribute to being able to fine tune your mouse to give you the optimal control that allows you aim more accurately and quickly than a typical mouse that does not have these features.

At some point, an office chair is good enough. It's got everything for a healthy working position.Spend 4 times more money, and you will most definitely sit more comfortable... but the question we're answering here is: do you work harder with significantly less chance for injury? Maybe just a little. Probably no measurable difference.

I don't doubt for a moment that you get a nicer gaming experience with your MX518 mouse. The question in TFA was not whether you like it more, but whether you can click faster or more precise. The answer given in TFA is that you can't really.

A single repetitive stress injury prevention / reduction is worth whatever difference you spend on a chair. The problem with prevention is that you never know if you're actually preventing anything, since it is a hidden benefit.

Why am I picturing a bunch of fat, pasty white guys living in their mom's basement endlessly fiddling with their mice (ahem) in order to... well, I have no idea what actually as I've never really gotten into FPS games.

Because you're an asshole.

You're on slashdot making fun of people with technology-based hobbies?

What are some of your hobbies, I'm sure we can berate you over them in some fashion.

well, I have no idea what actually as I've never really gotten into FPS games.

Yet you felt the need to comment anyway. Bravo. And anonymously, too. What makes fretting of the specifics of a mouse different than golf clubs, tennis rackets or the like other than the fact that video games are less socially desirable? It is obvious that in most cases the person worrying over the miscellaneous details isn't a pro and thus it doesn't really matter - but worrying over details can be fun in its own right.

I have one of the weighted mice, I bought it for more buttons (which have utility ou

I love my Logitech MX1100R, it's an office mouse AFAIK, not really a gaming one, works great in gaming and standard use. Comfy, replaceable batteries and the extra 3 buttons are handy in some games. It was a bit pricey but I haven't looked back because it's so comfortable to use for extended periods.

From a technical standpoint, looking at benchmarks and the like? It probably doesn't matter so much. The extra buttons certainly help, if the mouse is well-designed. But I'll tell you this - if I feel more confident because the mouse I'm using cost $80 instead of $20, then I'm going to play better. And that might be worth it.

But that's all it really is. This is the online equivalent of those newspaper ads where an Amish craftsman oh so tenderly puts the finishing touches on the wood cabinet of an electric fireplace, while the fireplace is inside and running.

Moreover, I don't recall ever buying a gaming mouse so that I could perform a "500-click series of randomly generated commands" in the fastest possible time. I buy them because of the control I get over the mouse motion, leading to smoothness and accuracy in pointing.

"Gamer" versions of just about any peripheral pretty much guarantees that it's at least 200% overpriced, and absolutely not one iota of performance better than the standard generic version you can buy at Microcenter from the big bargain bin.

"Gamer keyboards" tend to have additional programmable buttons for key stroke combinations, which normal keyboards don't. "Gamer mice" similarly have extra buttons that normal mice don't. The "gamer network card" has a dedicated network processor on board, which reduces CPU usage, and has an impact on your local LAN latency.

For most people, these features make no discernible difference between "gamer" and "normal", but they do nonetheless provide some value to a small percentage of people, and hence charge

* An ergonomic shape to hold for a couple hours at a time. I find that it works well to have a more arched shape for continuous use, instead of a flatter shape for reaching over to occasionally click something. Thumb rests are also popular.

* Lots of buttons, in a convenient arrangement.

* High resolution. Even if you don't want it to track fast, you want the tracking quantum to be small. For productivity apps, on the other hand, a larger quantum is nice to prevent it from accidentally moving.

There are also firmware differences. Ever notice how the LED goes dim when you're idling? That's a power saving strategy. It's actually just flashing it on occasionally to see if it's moved, then going back to sleep. Cordless productivity mice do this very aggressively, and you *will* miss that golden headshot opportunity if your mouse is idled down, since it won't start tracking again until the next flash - which can be as infrequent as once every couple seconds if you've been camping a while and it's gone into deep sleep.

TFA is measuring performance of speed clicking a bunch of icons. The mouse will never go to sleep in this scenario. If they tried another benchmark - like, hold still for 30 seconds and then click the icon as fast as you can - you will see some BIG differences, and gaming mice that don't go to deep sleep will win handily.

Bluetooth mice also gave wireless mice a bad name, and so a lot of gaming mice still have tails. The proprietary wireless interfaces are much less power hungry and respond so fast I can't tell the difference between my current midrange wireless mouse and the midrange corded one it replaced, other than no longer having the wire get tangled at inopportune moments.

notice how the LED goes dim when you're idling? That's a power saving strategy. It's actually just flashing it on occasionally to see if it's moved, then going back to sleep. Cordless productivity mice do this very aggressively, and you *will* miss that golden headshot opportunity if your mouse is idled down,

campers who are able to get their mouse to idle due to excessive camping are horrible, horrible gamers to play with anyway.

That depends on the game. If you're playing Quake-style deathmatch, sure, that kind of camping is lame.

I play things like Project Reality [realitymod.com] where the maps are enormous and the gameplay is much slower. You squad up and hike across the map for a good several minutes without any enemy contact (though you have to be constantly on your toes). You reach a river. The whole squad crossing at once is suicidal, so you go in pairs, with everyone else staying in the trees and ready to provide cover fire. With 30 sec

There is only one way to find out about the quality of a gaming mouse and it is to play with it. My gaming mouse is comfortable, fast and has a lot of buttons which are all bound and used. The adjustable DPI allows me to quickly swith from a sniper sensitivity to a tank pilot sensitivity. My G500 also has hyper-fast scrolling which is useful to find specific pages in huge documents or doing funny moves in games. Furthermore, I usually browse the web without touching my keyboard.
DON'T PLAYER HATE ON ME

I admit that I own a "gaming mouse". No, actually I own three of them, one for each of my computers at home. It's simply because the mouse that I found to work best for me happens to be the Logitech G5 (which now has been succeeded by the G500). The shape, the weight and the surface texture are all very nice, and unlike the less expensive mice, the "gliders" at the bottom are very large and the optical sensor works on pretty much every surface I tried it on. I just like it, and I think that when it comes to

I was going to mention the G5 myself; I use one at home and love it. The main features that really make it work for me are the size and shape of it (I have big hands and this mouse is fairly big), the fact that you can put weights in it to make it heavier, the extra buttons and the ability to quickly increase or decrease the sensitivity of the mouse which is great for photo work.

I guess you can only define performance once you define your priorities because my gaming mouse performs the tasks I want it to e

However, that does not mean it doesn't matter or is imperceptible. Humans can perceive things they cannot react to; oftentimes these are called "feelings". Furthermore, many games have finger-twitch challenges that certainly will respond inside of 1 ms. If a gamer successed more often on one than the other, then that is also data.

I don't care about click speed, I care about movement accuracy. When my hand twitches a little, does the mouse accurately send that information in a timely manner? If I wanted faster clicking, I'd use software with an auto-repeat feature.

I use a decent Logitech laser mouse and it has very good performance and fairly good responsiveness for a wireless mouse. On the other hand, I've used office mice that I have to shake around to get a response out of.

I thought the WarMouse sounded familiar. It was also known, once, as the OpenOffice Mouse [slashdot.org]. Its lead designer, Theodore Beale [wikipedia.org], is also known as Vox Day [voxday.net]. Vox Day is a anti-evolution, anti-feminist, christian writer and blogger who believes -- amongst other things -- that all atheists are sociopaths.

He is the author of a handful of poorly reviewed games, including the tedious looking The War In Heaven [somethingawful.com].

None of this will affect the quality of his mouse, it should live and die by its merits. But because of who is behind it, I for one, and going to give it a miss...

I'm a gamer and build my own systems over the years. Lets be clear what I consider performance.

- Smooth movement (is it jumpy or does it smoothly move the icon or view in game)- Comfort of mouse (does it feel good to my hand so my hand won't hurt later)- Buttons (Are they quality? Do they depress easily? Are they located in the right spots?)- Software (Does the software allow me set sensitivity and map keys?)

Mapping out how fast a click response rate is stupid. Of course there won't be little difference.

The purpose of getting a more expensive mouse are the additional features. If anyone purchases a mouse because "it's response rate is faster than an average mouse" is just stupid. I have a Razer mouse and it vastly exceeds in my performance criteria than the standard Microsoft Intellimouse.

I've tried about 20 different mice while gaming and coding and non perform for me as well as the $70 Razer I have. Is it right for everyone? no. But their study is flawed.

I have a Logitech MX518, with it's DPI cranked up to 1800. I am very quick with this mouse, whereas any of my friends who touch it tend to be slower, as the increased sensitivity often means they overshoot buttons on screen.
I would hazard that the testers might be quicker using office mice because that's what they are used to.

I agree that the "high resolution" portion of the gaming mice are complete bunk. After a certain point, it doesn't matter much unless you are playing on a really odd surface (like nearly unblemished glass). What matters most is the features.

I can play equally well in terms of accuracy on a cheap dell laser mouse as I can with my $100 mouse. I have the $100 mouse because I use the buttons/features (adjustable palm, thumb, etc...) which the cheap dell mouse doesn't have. If I switch out for a different mo

I shelled out and got me a setup that has the top (expensive) logitech stuff: G19 keyboard, G930 headset and the G700 mouse. It was the programmable macro keys (and the cordlessness of the mouse and headset) that sold me. Especially with the headset where I have a macro key as "push to talk" in teamspeak, so I can communicate with my pals while fixing a sandwich in the kitchen or (I usually don't announce this over comms) sit on the toilet...

Glad I'm not the only one of that opinion. A mouse has to feel comfortable and offer the features a user needs during the daily work. In my case that's the tried and proven MX518 combined with a Gen1 G15.

I'm a big fan of logitech products as well. I've had some bad experiences with them, but I bought their G7 wireless mouse years ago and found it better than all of the wired ones I had been using previously. I currently own 3 of them, the 8 year old one is still going strong but not in use anymore due to the coating wearing off and it looking very dirty no matter what I did in around year 5. After a year or so of the mouse the Logitech G15 came about, and I now have 3 of those as well, though two of them ar

I've had 2 Logitech MX Revolution mice. Each of them lasted about 6 months to a year, before they were unable to recharge again. Second one also had a very annoying bug where every so often a single click got interpreted as a double click. Extremely annoying.
I can't believe you're peddling that crap here.

Must be a different build quality. Guess it was a good idea i went for something more simple. Once I accidentally dropped my powered MX518 into a pitcher full of sweetened tea and now more than a year later that thing still hasn't croaked.

I'm on my second MX Revolution after I wore out the buttons on my first (about 3 years use). Even if I have to keep replacing them at the same rate, it's still the best mouse I've ever used. Good shape for my hand, variable traction scroll wheel, and the 3-way thumbwheel + 2 thumb buttons is enough for all useful tab manipulations.

I just wish they still made them: all their 'replacement' mice aren't nearly as useful.

The basic Logitech optical mice (of the sort that you get with Dells for example) always suited me fine for gaming. I tend to play FPSes though rather than stuff like WoW where the extra buttons could make some sense.

I use an old microsoft (gasp!) trackball that rolls off the tongue with a model number x05-87475 [recycledgoods.com]. I use it because of the very high tracking speed on the trackball. Everything else I've bought since then would choke if I flitted the ball too fast. They either stop tracking at all until the ball slows down (or gets epilepsy) or they track backwards.

It's a big beaste too. But you have very little choice if you want a "right thumb" ball instead of a center ball. I'm amazed no one has made anything like it

Circle strafing has gone out of fashion in shooters over time. Shooters have gradually drifted towards high damage hitscan weaponry. This results in small fast clashes that end before someone can strafe in a circle.

It hasn't gone entirely extinct. The remake of Serious Sam, and Borderlands still rely heavily on circle strafing, and of course, older games won't go away.

I liked my trackball too, and I got great results with it at the time, but I've moved on since then.

The basic Logitech optical mice (of the sort that you get with Dells for example) always suited me fine for gaming

I'll echo your experience. Before I switched to one of those newfangled oodles-of-buttons mouses, I used a run-of-the-mill Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3 as my main gaming mouse. What it has over the most basic of basics is the two thumb buttons, and loving those buttons so much is what led me into the multi-button goodness (which I loved, up until I stopped playing WoW a month later, go figure). I never at any point felt that the mouse lacked accuracy or that the weight was off, or whatever else gaming

I think I got mine bundled in with a gateway computer maybe 7-8 years ago. The middle mouse button was always a bit flaky. In FPS where you needed to use the middle mouse button to zoom (e.g. with a sniper scope) the damn thing wouldn't stay zoomed.

You know, I've used a lot of keyboards and mice over the years. They've been both items that I've bought for myself, and items on other people's computers.

My girlfriend has a Naga Razor. She was very excited about it when she bought it. The first one died after about 4 hours of using it. It just blinked off, to never come back to life. The second one has been working for a few months. It has a gridword of numbered buttons on the side. After a few months, various buttons

"Logitech: another company I won't ever buy anything else from ever again."
What did I miss about Logitech?
Cry about astro-turf all you want, but I have a G15 (original with 18 buttons), MX Revolutions and a wired headset that I absolutely love. I've used Logitech for years and have always been happy with their quality. Out of 4-5 different PS2 wireless joysticks, the Logitech one I had was the only one that worked worth shit. Same for my USB Joysticks. The items that I have used from Logitech have worke

I'm so glad/. is turning into wikipedia with its bullshit. Clearly if anyone says anything good about something that they bought they are a corporate shill. In fact, I am quite clearly a corporate shill for dozens of corporations because I like their products!

Microsoft and Dell simply rebrand Logitech mice... yes... How you like dem apples.....

I don't like them, because those are road-apples. Wake up and smell them.

Microsoft and Dell sell their own mice, made to their own specs. They're not selling rebranded Logitech gear. This kind of nonsense comes out all the time by people who have no idea what they're talking about, and gets read and regurgitated by people often enough that these rumors get accepted as true by the extremely gullible, or by people who can't tell the difference between a factory and a design. Disassemble a few, or many, an

The extra buttons ones I guess serve a purpose if you are incapable of using modifiers or are some kind of Octopi

There's always room for more buttons. When gaming there's no reason to devote dozens of keys to your left hand, and only two buttons to the right. Even just for general use, more buttons make for more a better experience. Ever try using an Apple mouse? Ever try using a mouse without a scroll wheel? It's a pain because we're used to more buttons.

Do yourself a favor. Go out and buy a mouse with extra thumb buttons, and don't look back.

Agreed. I have a Naga, and while I have no idea if it is faster/more accurate than other mice I can say having the extra buttons on the side makes a difference. I can hit them with my thumb and they correspond to the number keys. I play WOW and my dps went up about 10-12% by utilizing these buttons. I never have to look at my keyboard now and can dedicate my left hand for continuous movement and my right for aiming/attacking/special moves.

Agreed. For MMO gaming, I haven't found anything that can beat the Naga. It takes a few days to get used to, but after the initial muscle memory is created you're golden. My only complaint is the ergonomics, since my hand doesn't quite fit right with the pinky-rest on the right.

Its these bloody sideways keyboard things that the cool kids have that baffle me.

It wouldn't baffle you if you ever played an MMORPG. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of commands you can use. Being able to map the most common ones to your mouse keys makes playing the game that much more efficient, and really can "make or break" a battle.

I'm playing a Holy Priest, and I've got one of those Logitech mice with 8 buttons. I use every single one, some of them with keyboard modifiers to get more out of them.

Raid healing with a lot of spells is faster the more you can click cast, and more buttons lets you use more spells that way. Course, Priests also have a lot more spells then Paladins with stuff like Leap of Faith.:)

Ha I've the same mouse, I'm on my second one after I literally wore the pads off the first one from so much use. It's got to be my favorite mouse in the world, the only thing I don't like about it is the damn thing gets so dirty. More so than other mice it seems like.

Also have two 518s at home (laptop & main desktop).They offer a few more features than a standard mouse but aren't souped up to the max with fifty buttons, wheels and other components.And over the course of the last two years those things have taken quite a beating. Dropped into a pitcher full of tea, dropped off the side of the desk numerous times, rough handling when those various bugs in the last two Fallout games pissed me off again,...

When I play on my laptop at work, the thing I miss more than anything is my Razer Naga. Seriously the best mouse I've ever purchased. I only wish all Razer products were that high in quality: my Razer Lycosa often freaks out and ignores certain keys. Very annoying.

I love my Deathadder. I'm sure there's some performance difference over the old keyboard and mouse set I used to have, but my gaming mouse is a lot more comfortable, the scroll wheel clicks instead of spins (I'm used to not using it for games now, though) and it has the side buttons which I can't believe I lived without, before.

At best you can conclude that your particular mouse needs to be turned in for replacement, or that this is a very bad model (in which case one would hope reading enough reviews beforehand can avoid a bad purchase).

But some of them are good. The Logitech MX518 was mentioned here, and I second that. I used it until it was completely worn out. Now I have a G9x, and it's also good. They just work. Everywhere.

In my opinion one of the best mice as far as side button access goes, my thumb can never reach them well on other mice. My switches held up for years, but mine had half a magnet in it rattling inside when I got it new (one of those which cables are pulled through) when I got it and I had to put a bit of cardboard under a microswitch before it reliably connected to the side button. Also lots of people get broken wires in the cable.

Atrocious QA, iffy build quality... still the best mouse ever. If I wasn't ti

You say that because you haven't used a better mouse. I use an MX518, and the extra buttons/sensitivity controls are so integral with my gaming that I couldn't imagine not having them.For example, besides the nice feature of being able to navigate web pages faster with the fwd/back buttons, I've remapped the forward button on the thumb to be the knife button for BFBC2. The ability to react faster than everyone else by having one finger always on the knife button but not affecting movement has proven to be a